Angel investor hub opens in Bristol to help bring investment to region

UK Business Angels Association hopes hub will be able to help start-up and scale-up companies in the South West

27th March 2018

Sick of seeing all the startup money going to London despite hotbeds of tech innovation being dotted around the UK? Want it to change? You aren’t the only one.

In a bid to close the regional funding gap, where most of the equity investment is concentrated towards England’s capital and the South East, the UK Business Angels Association (UKBAA) – a national trade association for angel and early-stage investment – is looking to help fund startups and scale-ups in the South West.

“Our new Angel Hub in the heart of Bristol to provide a focal point for angel investors of all levels to connect with each other”

To help to address why this money is not making its way to Bristol and Bath, despite the numerous innovative tech and digital businesses located here, it has opened a new Angel Investment Hub in the heart of Bristol, at the Engine Shed, with regular investment briefings planned to keep people aware of the lastest investment developments.

As Jenny Tooth (pictured left), CEO of the UKBAA says, “Today we have formally launched our new Angel Hub to provide a focal point for angel investors of all levels to connect with each other. We will continue to help entrepreneurs to be investment-ready, how to pitch and present effectively.”

Briony Phillips, Scale-up Enabler at the Engine Shed (pictured right) adds: “The launch of the UKBAA Bristol Angel Hub is a really exciting development for the region – it will hopefully help to drive greater investment activity for seed-stage businesses locally. Members of the Angel Hub can access the Engine Shed Business Lounge, a series of training and networking events and the Quarterly Investment Briefing newsletter and events.”

She adds, “This initiative is all about education and community building. I’m inviting scale-ups and start-ups in the region to share a one page summary of their investment proposition ahead of each Quarterly Investment event so that I can help raise awareness of their needs – whilst not recommending specific opportunities of course! The next one is in June.”

Tom Fox, Senior Manager at KPMG Tech Growth, says: “We are delighted to be supporting the Quarterly Investment Briefings and this initiative to bring together investors from within the region and further afield. The presentations at the launch demonstrated that the innovative and creative strengths of the South West need to be matched with the support of investors who bring expertise as well as capital.”

Interested in joining? Angel investors and budding angel investors can apply to join the Angel Hub if they’d like to be more connected to what’s going on in the West of England. Other investors are also invited to get the Quarterly Investment in Brief newsletter to receive news of investment related events and activities on a quarterly basis.

Jamie Middleton is an editor and writer with a keen interest in technology and innovation. He was the founding editor of TechSPARK and was previously the Digital Communications Manager at the Technology Strategy Board - the UK government's innovation agency - and the Operations Editor for TechRadar.com - the UK's biggest technology review site.